Improvement in releasing the tail-boards of wagons



C. DREHER.

End Grate.

No. 49,734. Patented Sept. 5; 1865.

lnventon Witnesses= 0 w y, I

AM PHOTO-LITHO. (35. NM (OSBORNE'S PROCESS.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OASPAR DREHER, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

IMPROVEMENT IN. RELEASING THE TAIL-BOARDS OF WAGONS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 49,734, dated September 5, 1865.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CASPAR DREHER, of Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented a new and Improved Device for Releasing the Tail-Boards of Vagons; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a view of a side of a wagon with my device applied to its tail-board. Fig. 2 is a front view of the device, showing its application to the tail-board.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

In nearly all express and other wagons as now made the tail-board is hinged at the bottom, and is retained in place, when swung up to close the wagon-box, by spring-catches secured on the side boards of the box, whose noses catch over the board, or a piece secured thereto, and hold the board up. Vhen it is desired to release the tail-board it is necessary to press the thumbs against these springcatches, so as to throw them up, and this operation strains the thumbs, besides being awkward and disagreeable.

The object, therefore, of my invention is to provide a simple device for instantly and effectually releasing the board; and it consists in the employment of a rock-shaft extending across the tail-board of the wagon, provided with tappets on its ends, which bear against the noses of the spring-catches in such a manner as to throw them up whenever the rockshaft is turned by a hand-lever attached to it for that purpose.

To enable others to understand my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents the sides of the wagon, and B is the tail-board,which latter is hinged to the bottom 0 of the wagon in the usual or any suitable way.

D D are the spring-catches, which are of the ordinary kind used for the purpose, and they are secured in the top or edge of the sides A, or in the top rail thereof,when such is used, in the usual manner. These prevent thetailboard from fallingdown after they have sprung down over the same, as shown in Fig. 1.

E is a rock-shaft, arranged to turn in suita ble bearings which secure it in place on the tail-board of the wagon, as shown clearly in Fig.2. A hand-lever, a, is attached to the rock-shaft for turning it. On each end of the rock-shaft there is formed or secured to it a tappet, b, the face of which bears against the nose of the spring-catch D, so that by raising the lever a the catches will be thrown upward, and thus release the tail-board. As soon as the tail-board is released, as shownin red outline in Fig. 1, the noses of the spring-catches bearing thereon rebound, throwing the tailboard outward, and thus no trouble whatever is required to either release the tail-board or draw it down after it has been released.

This device is a very useful one. It is simple in its construction, easily applied, and not at all in the way.

WVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The rock-shaft E, provided with the tappets I) and lever at, or their equivalents, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination of the rock-shaft E, tappets I), lever a, and spring-catch D, substantially in the manner shown and described.

3. The tappets b, when connected to a suitable rock-shaft and arranged to operate sub stantially as herein shown and described.

UASPAR DREHER.

Witnesses:

OHRisrN. NIEDERMULLER, KARL ZEHMEMANN. 

